“Fortuitous Encounters… “

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Shared by Kristina Smedley

I just got home from a few days in Charleston where three colleagues and myself represented our SoCal Incident and Injury Free (IIF) Persistence Team as one of the Boeing Company’s Chairman Safety Award winners!

1 of about 15 teams awarded throughout the entire company!

It was a remarkable celebration, hosted by our CEO and Executive Council!
It was truly amazing and was an honor to be recognized and get to mingle with our top company leadership.

But the journey to getting there started many years ago…

In 2014, Sennad and I moved to sunny southern California, with the beautiful beach just a mile from our townhouse. It was our first big adventure together!

We bought our first home – and remodeled it (thanks, Dad!).
We got engaged – in Seattle – but while we lived in Huntington Beach.
We got married (in Mexico).
And I started discovering my passions and potential.

I had mentioned to my Director that I was passionate about the work environment and culture and would love to be part of any related initiatives.

So, one day he called me into his office and said, “I found an opportunity for you… you can lead the Incident and Injury Free engagement.”

I thought, “Great, I’m going to be the safety focal… not exactly what I had in mind.” I imagined myself in a yellow vest and hat, ensuring no one sped in the parking lot or walked and talked on their cell phones. Or, maybe documenting physical safety issues.

But, he promised it was more about culture.

So, I trusted him and signed up… and ended up leading the initiative for our Long Beach site. We were fortunate to work with an absolutely tremendous consultant, who opened our eyes to new ideas, called our attention to old ways of thinking, held us accountable, and cheered us on.

Our ultimate goal was to ensure our colleagues went home safer and healthier than when they arrived, by being a group of leaders who demonstrated our care for others and by providing the avenue for others to join on the journey.

Through this initiative, I saw colleagues come alive with creative ideas on how to instill more care into our workplace, to build relationships, to increase appreciation and recognition of accomplishments.

To be curious.
To listen.
To get the dialog going and keep it alive.

This turned into our IIF Persistence Team – a grassroots powerhouse of ideas and energy! A now the owner of a Chairman’s Safety Award!

I saw leaders change their perceptions and get closer to their employees, listening more and showing more care and concern… not historically the way to be “the leader.”

These leaders dedicated many hours a month to coming together and continuing to impact change. They made IIF a priority and put their actions to work for the good of all.

It changed how we showed up every day.

Would you have thought that increased care = increased workplace safety?

It does, and it’s proven in our numbers. Over the last 3 years, we have significantly decreased the amount of workplace recordable injuries and have increased the proactive reporting of near misses.

But it’s not just showing up in the safety numbers, we’re also seeing improvements in the employee survey and engagement numbers.

And you can hear it in the stories employees tell and the way they talk about their workplace.

I’m really proud of the work our SoCal IIF Persistence and Leadership Teams have done. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to learn and grown through this initiative and the relationships formed.

And I’m so fortunate to have had a Director who listened and cared about my interests, looked out for opportunities, and sent me on this fortuitous path.

I can honestly say that getting asked to be the “Safety Focal” is what triggered my desire to get my Master’s in Organizational Leadership, which later prompted discussions with Breanne about leadership, and eventually led us to the creation of The Mindfluent Leader.

Being open-minded to fortuitous encounters, allows them to more easily occur.

It’s been a great week! I hope yours has been as well!

 

#CourageouslyListening

#InspirationallyImpactful

#IntegrallyRelational

#PassionatelyServing

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